Thanks to surging economic development in southwest Bexar County — some of it tied to Eagle Ford Shale activity — the community of about 1,000 residents has two public projects planned for a 13-acre tract of parkland on Quarterhorse Road.

“2013 will be remembered as a year of construction and building in the city,” the mayor said in a statement.

Tentative plans were approved Tuesday for a $250,000 municipal building that also will house the community center and offices for the city clerk and city marshal. And a $950,000 fire station soon will be constructed nearby.

About 10 acres will remain parkland, the mayor said Wednesday.

Von Ormy incorporated in 2008, and due to its robust economy, council has lowered the property tax rate by 10 percent each of the last three years. Last year, the cuts were made possible in part by having a “virtual city hall,” Martinez de Vara said.

Strong sales tax receipts enabled the community to build the City Hall “without straining our budget or dipping into our reserve fund,” the mayor said.

With increasing population and economic growth, some of it industrial, the city also is planning to draft zoning rules, he noted.

“Residents are concerned with preserving the residential nature of our neighborhoods and preventing industrial uses in residential areas,” he explained.